When did you start riding and on what?

By kiwiaudio, Posted December 29, 2005

Started on a Yamaha DT175, 1975 I think. I was 15 and crashed it on the test drive and bought it out of necessity !! Broke the bars, levers etc. walked it back to the owner and said i'd take it. I remember thinking this was the fastest thing on the planet !

"look Mom, new toy and new scrapes & bruises" She was one happy camper !

Young, stupid, ignorant - I heard them all, and have to agree !

By farkawi, Posted December 30, 2005

My first bike was a Ducati 200cc thumper. I had learned to ride on various friend's Japanese bikes, which all shift on the left....so I crashed the right side shift Duc on the way home the first ride. A painful but effective lesson!

By starmoto, Posted January 6, 2006

Christmas day 1973 on a '74 Honda MR50 Elsinore I wasnt big enough to ride the XR75 at the time. looking back now, Im glad I wasnt because everyone else arround me had them and I had to work harder to keep up with them but that wasnt enough for me, I didnt like getting roosted! it didnt take long for me to learn to lead! those early lessons have lasted a lifetime.

Ironically it makes me feel good when I take off my gear and the kids I still ride arround tell me they didnt think I was old Hahaa

we sure were lucky, things certainly have changed! I just found and have restored another little elsinore! too small to really ride for me but it gets alot of attention. they dont make em like that and like us anymore do they.

By JohnBG, Posted January 6, 2006

By yz250ftony, Posted January 6, 2006

I started a simular thread after this one. Didn't know that anybody did it before me. I'll bring it back!

By dorkpunch, Posted January 6, 2006

i was probably about 8, and me and my friend went for a ride on there honda 50 mopeds. made it all of 30 feet. first bike i actually rode was a pw50 about 2 years later. then to a cr60, yz80, and finally and IT400. after that there were several other bikes.... now i ride an xl250, dr100, tl125, ct70, and pretty quick a yz125. the newest of which is the yz, at 1981.

By CRF_250_X, Posted January 7, 2006

1974 Xl 250

By 83XR500R, Posted January 8, 2006

1972 TS125 whata beast lol

By labouie, Posted January 12, 2006

1972 TS125 whata beast lol

did it have the hi/low tranny switch? I had a 70 "Savage" , what a mistake of a name. Advertised 20(?) horsepower, actual prob 12. With premium..

By Thumper_426, Posted January 12, 2006

By Crf230 Rider, Posted January 13, 2006

By huskyksi, Posted January 13, 2006

started riding off road on a bsa bantam in 77 at 14 and still riding offroad now

By surfk9, Posted January 14, 2006

1964 on Daddy's new 1964 Honda Trail 90. Beat the crap out of that little automatic gutless wonder. With the cap off the spark arrestor/muffler I thought I was on a real beast, until my friend got his Honda Super 90!! My things have changed!

By Crf230 Rider, Posted January 17, 2006

I love these older bikes because it seems like there is more quality in them.

By Knobbydude, Posted January 17, 2006

I started in 1965? or thereabouts on a lawnmower powered minibike my dad got in some kind of a trade. It had been painted about ten times, no idea what brand etc. I remember the rear brake was a steel 'shoe' which pressed against the back tire tread, real effective. We got a Rupp a little later, then a 1969 Honda Mini Trail 50 (last year for the round tank emblem! Many is the time I wish I still had that one), then moved to an SL70, then a series of bigger SL's.

By Crf230 Rider, Posted January 19, 2006

My dads first bike was like in the 60's and he had an old washing machine motor on a regular pedal bike, had the streamers and everything! He let his friend ride it and he totally crashed it and he said to my dad ''why would some one ever what to ride this?''

I just thought that was a little funny..lol

By DGXR, Posted January 19, 2006

We did a lot of camping when I was a kid. I started riding in 1979 on Dad's 1975 Honda trail 90 (super fun!) and ~1973 Suzuki TS250 enduro (totally gutless). Now I ride an uncorked 1984 Honda XR500R that just rips! YEAH!!

By techmc, Posted January 27, 2006

My 1st motorized "cycle" when I was 11, 1971 BONANZA Mini Chopper,mini bike,sold by a Honda dealer North of my house. Learned how engines worked on that thing. Two years later I had out grown it and wanted an MR50 or PA50 Honda to play on. Christmas of '74 got a 1975 XL70, wanted a dirt bike but took it and stripped it down to make a dirt bike to ride with my buddy. Got really fast, for a mini bike rider on that and wanted a TM75 which I saw a couple of my aquaitances had, went to Suzuki shop in 77 only to find..no more TM's but look an RM80,Dad tried to talk me into the TS100,but wouldn't have any part of it. Raced it for a year and half and got pushed up in class,cause I was 16 riding in the 80 class...(i was real small for my age) Could hardly touch ground on,a RM100 but away I went. Got it stolen in 1979, out of bikes for a while, then bought restored an old 74SC500 yamaha, not good trail bike...Daaaa. Then bought a 79 RM400N to trail/play ride with friend. From there,have bought/restored/rode....1985 Honda XL250R, 1981 Suzuki RM125z, 1987 Cr250R , 1986 Kawasaki KLR600R, 1985 XR600R, 1998 Yamaha YZ250, and just (this last summer) bought myself an 2006 YZ250V to get back to racing. Oh yea from 1996 to 2003, bought my son his race bikes.. 1985 Honda Cr60R, 1994 Kawasaki KX80, 1999 YZ125, 2001 YZ125, 2003 YZ125, and 2003 YZ450F. So you see I've ridden many bikes in my life, offroad and MX are my Passion, remember if you want something bad enough you Will find a way to get it.

By corndog67, Posted January 30, 2006

I am seeing a lot of parallels with my own life. In '71, I used my life savings, $404.10, (I don't remember what I ate this morning, but I remember that figure from 1971), to buy a CT-70, the start of a lifelong obsession. I turned 10 the day we went to buy it. Started racing it about a year later, another obsession.

There has been about 30 others sleds over the years. It's been a good life. I moved from the Monterey Bay area about 2 years ago, first day here in San Luis Obispo county, I saw a bunch of kids riding mini bikes. It sure brought back a bunch of memories.

By dorkpunch, Posted January 30, 2006

wow. how do you race a ct 70? dont get me wrong, i LOVE mine! they just dont seem like the bike that would keep up with, well, anything!